The Obama State Department’s Smart Power doctrine in two tweets

Mary Katharine HamPosted at 6:01 pm on April 25, 2014

Look, I don’t want to make the biggest deal in the world out of dumb tweets, but if your entire foreign policy philosophy amounts to, “We’re way super-smarter than the last guy who did this, and our super-smarts are going to change the world,” it behooves you not to tweet like a—well, I would say like a tween, but they know how to use hashtags.

JAKE TAPPER: If Russia starts a World War III, what is the U.S. prepared to do about it?

JEN PSAKI: Well, we certainly hope that’s not the case. We continue to believe there’s no military solution to what is happening on the ground in Ukraine. we’re watching issues like troop movements very closely. We’re working closely with the Ukrainian government but we remain on a political issue here.

TAPPER: It doesn’t look like what the administration is trying to do in Ukraine is working. Can you point to success with respect to the Ukraine policy?

PSAKI: We’ve put in place several rounds of sanctions.

TAPPER: But they are not working, Jen.

PSAKI: Well, they are working. The facts on the ground, the impact on their economy is a striking difference from what they are saying.

I think this “name on success” may become a recurring question for the State Department. And, all together now:Awww.

Update (AP): Actual quote from the State Department’s actual spokesman: “They have not been following their hashtag with actions.”